Luna's Wisdom
by PagesofPotter
Summary: When Luna and Malfoy are trapped in a corridor in Hogwarts, Luna takes the opportunity to impart some obscure advice. Set during HBP. I have no idea what genre this would be. Reviews appreciated. I don't own anything Harry Potter.


Luna hummed a merry tune to herself as she skipped through the lower corridoors of Hogwarts. It was late afternoon, and the rain clouds outside were casting a dull grey light over the walls, broken occasionally by the feeble glow of a candle. The corridors on this side of the castle were narrow and cold. It was the oldest part of the school, and led down to the Whomping Willow, Forbidden Forest and the Black Lake beyond. Not many students ever had cause to venture down these winding passages.

Luna came to an abrupt halt. Movement had caught her eye. Advancing slowly, and tucking her long rippling hair behind her ear, she crept round the corner after her moving prize…

Draco Malfoy paced back and forth around the end of the corridoor. He was breathing quickly, and his hand was frantically grasping at his blonde fringe. He couldn't do this, the vanishing cabinet was broken, there was no way he could succeed with the task the Dark Lord had set him. What would his family think? And what would the Dark Lord do to him? Despite his efforts, tears began to prickle in his eyes.

"Hello."

Draco spun round. A small pale girl with white blonde hair was walking towards him. He faintly recognised her voice and dreamy expression. "What?" he barked, smoothing his hair and furiously wiping his eyes.

Before Luna could reply, a fragment of stone fell from the archway above her and landed close to her shoe. She peered curiously down at it. A loud cracking sound suddenly echoed around the corridor, like ice splitting in a drink, as more fragments fell. Malfoy backed away. Large cracks swiftly formed in the stone and Luna stumbled forwards as the entire archway, surrounding wall and floor above rained down to the floor. A cloud of dust erupted from thetumbling mountain, which finally came to a crumbling halt at ceiling height. A shocked silence fell over the corridor.

Luna blinked and brushed the dust from her clothes. "Well, that's unfortunate."

Malfoy stared between her and the pile of boulders, brinks and dust. They were in a dead-end corridor with solid walls and impossibley small windows. No easy escape. And these were the lower corridors, deep in the castle, far from the Great Hall and common rooms. Who would know? "Do you think someone will realise?" Malfoy asked quietly, from against the back wall.

"I suppose so." Luna calmly sank to sit cross-legged on the hard stone floor, pinching the dust around her feet. "You're Draco Malfoy aren't you?" she asked, after a lengthly pause. Malfoy glanced over at Luna's back. "Yes," he replied, reluctantly.

"Ginny Weasley told me about you" Luna continued, as if to herself.

"Did she." It was more of a cold statement than a question or invitation for further conversation. He didn't want want to talk to this girl. His heart was heavy against his chest, and his head ached with the constant stressed clenching of his jaw. Malfoy slid his back down until he sat against the stone.

"Yes," Luna paused, and drew a picture in the dust. "She said your families strongly dislike eachother."

Malfoy looked down at his clasped hands, "you could say that."

"That's unusual."

He looked up at her, "Why?"

Luna gave a slight smile at her listener's interest, and she twisted her body until she sat facing him. "Well, you're almost certainly related at some point in your family tree. Most pure blood families are. I'm related to the Barton-Questa's myself, though they rarely respond to Daddy's letters." Focussed on tracing on the ground in front of her, Luna didn't notice Malfoy's sneer. They were silent for a few minutes.

"What were you doing down here?" Luna asked, still far more engrossed in her second drawing than in Malfoy. "Walking," was his short reply.

"Odd place to walk." Luna gazed around at the corridor, her eyes resting on the towering pile of rubble behind her. "I was looking for a Moke" she continued, dreamily. "I've been trying to follow it since I saw it displaying in the Transfiguration classroom. A very interesting creature. Did you know they can shrink to a fifth of their original size?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Really?" How much more of this was he to endure?

"Oh yes, and some believe their skin makes a very attractive purse." Luna stopped and stared steadily at the boy in front of her. His skin had a greyish hue, and his school uniform hung off his frame as if from a hanger. She watched as he concentrated on his own intertwining fingers; something was lying like a heavy beast on his mind.

"If you don't mind me saying, you seem particularly agitated." Malfoy stopped fidgetting immediately, but refused to look at her. "I suppose that's why you were walking" Luna continued, "to clear your head of the responsibility."

Malfoy's head snapped up. "Responsibility? What responsibility?" He scrambled to his feet, and turned to rest his head on the cold wall. He took a deep breath. "You don't know what you're talking about" he whispered.

"Perhaps." Luna continued to gazed pointedly at his back. "Moke's often exist alone, you know. A bit like me really." She added the finishing touches to her drawing. "But at least… when we're alone, we can do what we want, and know what we're doing is right. Not hurting anyone…" Malfoy swallowed. What did she know? How did she know? He felt her eyes on him as he fought to remain still.

"Moke's in large groups tend to be vicious. They serve a leader but it never ends well." Luna let a meaningful stillness decend, before standing up and scuffing her Moke illistration with her shoe. "Still," her lighthearted voice carrying through the thick atmosphere, "more skin for the purse trade, I suppose."

A light from the rubble captured both of the students attention. The trail of pearly light snaked around the boulders and came together to form a large luminescent frog. The frog opened is gaping mouth and spoke with the voice of the Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout; "Students, we request that you stand against the furthest wall, as we remove the rubble. Thank you for your cooperation, and you will be free shortly." The frog nodded, hopped toward the rubble and disappeared amongst the dust.

"About time" Malfoy muttered, walking back towards the dead-end wall. Luna drifted beside him, stealing a curious glance at his sharp features as she stood at his shoulder. In front of them, boulders began to glow and silently fall away from the top of the rubble pile. Slowly, a gap opened at the top, and more rocks began to roll away down the right side. After a few minutes of silence, Professor Sprout appeared through the dust, her wand raised high in her hand.

"Ah, just two of you is it? No one hurt? No? Good." She continued to shift rocks out of her path. She indicated to her left, "come through this way. I told Dumbledoor these archways were crumbling… I told him…" Malfoy sped forward, wanting to be free from Luna's presence as soon as possible. He nodded to Professor Sprout as he stepped over the last few remaining boulders in his way. Luna followed slowly behind, gazing as the rocks as she passed; "Thank you Professor".

Before she went up the winding stairs to head to the Ravenclaw common room, Luna turned to see Malfoy disappearing down the adjacent corridor. "It was nice talking to you Draco Malfoy" she called. He stopped. "And good luck with your task." Malfoy turned and met Luna's piercing eyes. For a moment, it was as if those blue portals were peering right through his own, penetrating is brain, finding is plan, judging his weakness… He felt his insides twist with shame, and the pressure of what he must do but wished he didn't have to. And then the look was gone. Luna smiled plesantly as she began ascending the steps. "If you happen to see that Moke," she called back, "I have heard that they are especially partial to Honeyduke's sugared almonds."


End file.
